Jonah: A Fishy Tale About a Faithful Godಮಾದರಿ

Forgiveness For All Who Repent

Today we see Jonah being told a second time by the Lord to go to Nineveh. This time, after Jonah’s repentance and his dramatic rescue by God, he obeys what God tells him to do. He is given a second chance, and he takes it.

It is also worth noting that Jonah wasn’t simply called from something (out of the belly of the fish), but he was also called to something. God saved Jonah because God wanted to use Jonah. So it is with us. While we may not be called to preach to an entire nation, God desires to use all of us in the places he has put us.

As we see from Jonah’s example, we are still usable by God after rejecting and disobeying him. Scripture is clear time and time again that God uses willing people, not perfect people. We may think we are disqualified from God’s purposes, but there is always a way to be brought back in through repentance.

All throughout Scripture God responds to repentance with grace. That does not mean there are no consequences for our actions, but it does mean forgiveness is always there. Jonah repented and was forgiven. God sent Jonah to preach to the Ninevites so that they might also repent and be forgiven.

The king of Nineveh certainly hopes this is the case. After hearing that God will not judge and condemn them if they repent, he orders his people to do so. This is so fascinating because when we repent we don’t actually do anything to prove we deserve God’s grace. God gives it to us because of who He is.

Obedience follows repentance. After experiencing the love, grace, and mercy of God, we then desire to honor him. Not to get something from him, but in response to the gift he has already given us.

Ultimately, our repentance is sufficient not because God does not care about our wrongdoings, but because Jesus came to take our punishment. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, the apostle Paul tells us as much. The sinless One became sin for us so that we might experience the righteousness of God. Not through our actions, but through His redemption.

So remember, before we are called to do anything for God, we are first called to be with God. We are invited to first experience his love and grace, and in response to go and live in such a way that others might experience his mercy in the same way he has shown it to us.

Today's reflection

Do I view obedience to God as an obligation or an invitation? How does remembering God loves me and desires my greatest good help me to follow him even when it is hard?